A righteous life, a spiritual life, they call this the supreme treasure. But if someone goes forth from the lay life to homelessness
who is of scurrilous character, a beast and a bully, their life gets worse, as poison grows inside them.
A mendicant who loves to quarrel, wrapped in delusion, doesn’t even know what’s been explained in the Dhamma taught by the Buddha.
Harassing those who are evolved, governed by ignorance, they don’t know that corruption is the path that leads to hell.
Entering the underworld, passing from womb to womb, from darkness to darkness, such a mendicant falls into suffering after death.
One such as that is like a sewer brimful with years of filth for it’s hard to clean one full of grime.
Mendicants, knowing that someone is like this, attached to the domestic life, of corrupt wishes and wicked intent, of bad behavior and alms-resort,
then having gathered in harmony, you should expel them. Throw out the trash! Get rid of the rubbish!
And sweep away the scraps—they’re not ascetics, they just think they are. When you’ve thrown out those of corrupt wishes, of bad behavior and alms-resort,
dwell in communion, ever mindful, the pure with the pure. Then in harmony, alert, you’ll make an end of suffering.
A Righteous Life
Snp 2.6 · Kapilasutta (dhammacariyasutta)
Connections
Collection & context
- Sutta NipātaThe collection containing this text
- The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
- Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
- The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting
Books
- Handful of Leaves: an Anthology from the Sutta PiṭakaEarly Buddhist discourses; Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (translator and compiler) · Included in anthology
About this edition
Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0
This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.
Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.
The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.